Our English Conveyancing Fees

Gilson Gray is one of the UK’s leading conveyancing teams. We act for clients across Scotland, England and Wales. Our dedicated team in Lincoln assists clients across England and Wales with a wide variety of matters including sales, purchases and New Build purchases, remortgages, transfers, and more. The Conveyancing team is headed up by Partner, Cherie McBean, and the team consists of Partners, Solicitors, Licenced Conveyancers, and Conveyancers.

The team has a breadth of experience and expertise, helping clients navigate the moving home process. We dedicate ourselves to training regularly ensuring our knowledge stays up to date, allowing us to stay abreast of developments. The team has between 1 and 40 years of experience, with all members of the team supervised appropriately based on their knowledge and experience.

In addition to our lawyers, we also employ a number of dedicated assistants who work alongside our lawyers in order to give you the best service possible.

We are committed to setting expectations at the outset and keeping you, our client, regularly informed by phone or email. We will proactively communicate with you, and the estate agents, to give you the peace of mind that your transaction is running smoothly and progressing at pace.

The following cost estimates are relevant to clients who may wish to instruct us directly. Where clients are referred by those with whom a fee sharing arrangement contract is in place the rates may be different and are available through the referring agency.

We do not want you to have any unwanted surprises during the course of your transaction so we will give you an estimate of likely fees, expenses and disbursements before you decide to instruct us. Simply, the costs of purchasing or selling a property include:

• Legal Fees
• Expenses and Disbursements, including taxes

Broadly speaking, we will agree a fixed fee with you but if your matter is more complex or it is difficult to know what will be involved, we may agree an hourly rate with you.

We know that every transaction is unique, so we will keep you informed if we identify any additional work that will need to be done in order to successfully conclude your matter.

1. Legal Fees

Our fees cover all of the work^* required to complete the sale or purchase of the property,  including dealing with registration at the Land Registry and dealing with the payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax (Stamp Duty) if the property is in England, or Land Transaction Tax (Land Tax) if the property you wish to buy is in Wales.

Conveyancer’s fees

• Legal fee £700+VAT – £1800+VAT up to £1m (*depending on the property value)
• Electronic money transfer fee £40
• Fee for acting on behalf of the mortgage lender £249
• Preparation & Submission of SDLT Return £100

* Our fee assumes that:

1. This is a standard transaction and that no unforeseen matters arise including for example (but not limited to) a defect in title which requires remedying prior to completion or the preparation of additional documents ancillary to the main transaction
2. This is the assignment of an existing lease and is not the grant of a new lease
3. The transaction is concluded in a timely manner and no unforeseen complication arise
4. All parties to the transaction are co-operative and there is no unreasonable delay from third parties providing documentation
5. No indemnity policies are required. Additional disbursements may apply if indemnity policies are required.
6. Additional fees may be applicable if additional legal services are required, including the following circumstances. For a full list of our fees for additional services, please click here for additional sale fees and click here for additional purchase fees.

• New build properties
• First registration of title (new build properties, unregistered properties, new leases)
• Additional mortgages or additional funding (Forces Help To Buy, Lifetime ISA etc.)
• In purchase cases, whether primary residence, buy to let or second/holiday home
• Shared ownership scheme
• Purchase under right to buy
• Purchase at auction
• Property has been repossessed

NB: This list is not intended to be exhaustive.

2.          Expenses & Disbursements

Expenses and disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as search fees. Some are subject to VAT at the prevailing rate, others are VAT-exempt. We handle the payment of these costs on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

• Stamp Duty Land Tax or Land Transaction Tax £variable depending on value and circumstances.
• Search fees £355+VAT (*depending on property specific searches required)
• HM Land Registry fee £20 – £1105 (*depending on the property value)

If the property is leasehold, or is a freehold property on a managed estate, there are certain additional expenses disbursements which will be payable in connection with the sale or purchase of the Property. These expenses and disbursements are payable to third parties, including the Management Company and Landlord. We have set out common examples below, this list is not exhaustive and other expenses or disbursements may apply depending on the property title. We will update you on the specific expenses and disbursements once we are made aware by the relevant third parties.

• Notice of Transfer fee – This fee if chargeable is set out in the lease or property title, and is payable to the Management Company or Landlord. Often the fee is between £50 – £200.  This fee is set by each Management Company
• Notice of Charge fee (if the property is to be mortgaged) – This fee is set out in the lease. Often the fee is between £50 – £200.  This fee is set by each Management Company
• Deed of Covenant fee – This fee is provided by the management company for the property and can be difficult to estimate. Often it is between £150 and £250.  This fee is set by each Management Company
• Certificate of Compliance fee – To be confirmed upon receipt of the lease or property details as can range between £100 – £300.  This fee is set by each Management Company

*These fees vary from property to property and can on occasion be significantly more than the ranges given above. We can give you an accurate figure once we have sight of your specific documents.

You should also be aware that ground rent and service charge are likely to apply throughout your ownership of the property. We will confirm the ground rent and the anticipated service charge as soon as this we receive this information.

Stamp Duty Land Tax (England) or Land Transaction Tax (Wales) (on purchase)

This depends on the purchase price of your property. You can calculate the amount you will need to pay by using HMRC’s website or if the property is located in Wales by using the Welsh Revenue Authority’s website.

Gilson Gray (England) Limited is regulated and authorised by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (“SRA”). Its SRA number is 620418.